The Treehouse on Hereford St.

B, ML, Cam. We are all starting fresh this semester. It feels kind of like the first day of Kindergarden, you don't know anyone, you are entering uncharted waters, and you just want to take naps alllllll dayyyyy. Sometimes you wish you could just bolt from the unfamiliarity of it all and watch T.V. in your undapants for the afternoon. Well, we 3 ladies are embracing the new year together... and these are our adventures....

The gospel declares that no matter how dutiful or prayerful we are, we can't save ourselves. What Jesus did was sufficient. To the extent that we are self-made saints like the Pharisees or neutral like Pilate (never making the leap in trust), we let the prostitutes and publicans go first into the kingdom while we, in Flannery O' Connor's unforgettable image, are in the background having our alleged virtue burnt out of us. The hookers and swindlers enter before us because they know they cannot save themselves, that they cannot make themselves presentable or lovable. They risked everything on Jesus and, knowing they didn't have it all together, were not too proud to accept the handout of amazing grace... when we acknowledge that we are paupers at the door of God's mercy, then God can make something beautiful out of us. This is the beatitude "Blessed are those who know they are poor" - To be alive is to be broken. And to be broken is to stand in need of grace.So then the gospel of grace calls out, Nothing can ever separate you from the love of God made visible in Christ Jesus our Lord. -- You must be convinced of this, trust it, and never forget to remember. Everything else will pass away, but the love of Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Faith will become vision, hope will become possession, but the love of Jesus Christ that is stronger than death endures forever. In the end, it is the one thing you can hang onto.From Brennan Manning

Some of my favorite places in the world are the towns noted for their quirkiness.
i.e.Austin, Tx. a place where their mantra is "Keep Austin weird." ...explains the entire city. This place is booming with ingenuity and freedom. Local shops are the norm. & even the traditional chain businesses have an austin flair. Most sides of any given buildings have been attacked by a paintbrush. I love it SO much.

&Canton, Tx.First Monday Trade Days. According to various sources, the custom has everything to do with the swapping of dogs, antiques, junk, and donkeys on 30-acre grounds. Canton goes from a tiny town of 5,100 to a town of over 300,000 during the first Monday weekend, making it the largest flea market in the world. I grew up going there, I've never been anywhere as strange as Canton. Its almost as magical as Disneyland.

When I was younger I did cartwheels in the front yard, I built forts in the woods, or I patrolled the streets on my bike with my best friends along side. I had time to experience and learn and grow. Now, it feels like I am playing life according to the rules of time management. I have to take a step back, and learn who I am all over again.

And through this experience I have found out some things I never knew or wanted to admit about life concerning beth jasper:

-I think I just realized that I am not as good of a driver as I thought- actually, I am a horrible driver. If you get in a car with me wear your seatbelt.

- I have hereditary faults and limited talents, I am a Scalawag. And I am almost okay with that.

- & I would have never admitted this one before now, but YES, its true, We Texans are 110% infatuated, consumed with our Lone Star State. Most of us would acknowledge that everything north of Texas is Canada. There is an overwhelming pride that LITERALLY everything is bigger & better in Texas. I don’t know where it came from, but every baby born in this state is programmed with it. --So I think I have stumbled upon some unsorted through feelings for my homeland. Well world, Love is such a silly game we play, but “I’m in love and I don’t care who knows it!”

I had no idea that I would be back in Texas so soon, but “God plants His saints in the most useless places. We say—God intends me to be here because I am so useful. Jesus never estimated His life along the line of the greatest use. God puts His saints where they will glorify Him, and we are no judges at all of where that is.” – My Utmost

these are a few things I have just realized... & I have a long way to go!

A big chunk of my life last semester was spent with people like- Anna, Mike, Liz and Dave.

I love them.

They are incredible friends, but this past year they have served as my family. I can’t get enough of them.

We were a team via Young Life.
I like the way Oswald Chambers describes ministry, he puts it like this: "You can never give another person that which you have found, but you can make him homesick for what you have."

What a cool experience to have shared with these 4 people. & I cannot wait to see how the Lord moves through them this year.

One highlight of this past summer of 2010 was when I got to know Mr. Jiggs Robert Gaphney. I met him at Pine Cove, where there was always something hilarious happening at any given moment. I spent many days in that dynamic environment. One would quickly see that Jiggs is the joy of Pine Cove Ranch. He is one of the most incredible people I have ever met. People cheer and go nuts when this man enters a room. He loves people so well, and people love him because of it, he has a huge heart.... I had the privilege to hear some stories about prom from the commando boss himself.

I found this paragraph in the back of Ragamuffin, which perfectly communicates this journey of mine through a simple prayer…

Father,

"Be present with me now on each step of this journey. Grow me up in my inner being to receive and share abroad more and more of Your love. Let me be Your hands and face and words to all I meet. Set me free to serve You- free from anxiety, fear, self-pity, self-hatred, cynicism, or skepticism. Free me from every crippling sin and any darkness of unbelief, Lord Jesus Christ, anoint my life and my spiritual community with deep faith and reckless abandonment to Your enduring goodness. Give us truly listening hearts, that we may hear Your word and courageously act upon it, to the praise of Your name and joy of Your heart." - Ragamuffin Gospel

You are good Jesus- thank you for bringing me into a foreign land. In that place I saw you daily through the faces of extraordinary people. People that I lived with, that I lead with, and people that became my dear friends. You brought me to a place in my heart that you knew my only option would be YOU. That place is dry and its hard living there, but it is so good because, that is the place where I come before You on my knees. You are my only refuge in that desert land.You have given me all the resources in Christ that I need to live a life of ministry to the people You have placed in my life. Still, it is easy to neglect Your resources and panic when times become difficult. In those times, I am more tempted to run than to rest and to react than to reflect.

...But even the shallow concerns of life are ordained by You Lord. They are Profound.